Profile

Academic Credentials

MBBS from Stanley Medical College, Chennai, India

MSc Virology from National Institute of Virology, Pune, India

Research Interests

My overall research interest is in studying various emerging pathogens. There is direct or circumstantial evidence that several deadly viruses like SARS, MERS, Ebola and Nipah, have spilled over into humans and other species causing serious and often fatal disease. My research focuses on looking at characterizing novel viruses detected in bats which would help us in understanding the behavior of such viruses with their natural hosts.

Our group has been studying a coronavirus that was detected in the intestines and lungs of hibernating little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus). We have demonstrated that these bats are capable of harboring such coronaviruses in them during hibernation. We have also shown that the amount of virus in the bats increases in the presence of stress of secondary infections such as white nose syndrome fungus. In addition to coronaviruses, I have also characterized a novel bat Gammaherpesvirus isolated from the big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus). The virus is unique in coding MHC class I and II antigens in its genome. During my externship in the National microbiology lab in Winnipeg, I was involved in the development of a ELISA assay to detect Rift valley fever virus in Cattle population in Mali.